Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi directs this fable about a monster, Roy Cohn, who teaches Donald Trump to become a monster. “One has to be aware of the judgment of history. We are going to be judged by this film, our mission was to try to humanize these characters, but we had to be careful because we wanted to be responsible and that does not mean framing the story within a political context, but in a human way. It is in that sense that the question of being fair arises. For me, being fair means showing this man in a complex way, with his virtues and his flaws, with his intelligence. I hope people can experience the film on their own terms and not add political baggage to it,” Ali said exclusively to Metro.
Trump meets Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), a disturbing lawyer devoid of morals and decency. Cohn instantly recognizes his kinship with Trump and takes the inept young man under his wing. His dedication to cultivating Trump's personality is the central point of the story, and Abbasí interprets it as a recreation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Trump benefited from his relationship with prosecutor Roy Cohn, brilliantly portrayed by Jeremy Strong, who taught him the benefits of corruption. "We have tried to inhabit these characters in the best way possible, which requires a lot of work, it is almost inexplicable to me, but it is also a testament to a director who knows how to psychologicallyeach moment correctly with his lens. I am fascinated by the way he presents the relationship between these two characters: the long lens, the framing, the music. That is simply great cinema. Ali belongs to the lineage of David Lynch with this phantasmagorical Frankenstein created for this film."
Sebastian Stan's portrayal as the 45th president of the United States is full of details. It is not a caricature, but a fascinating insight into the genesis of the sometimes irritating idiosyncrasies of Donald Trump. "One of the things we did from the beginning was decide that we were portraying a guy named Donnie and another named Ronnie. We had to find the heart of this relationship that is analyzed from different angles: mentor, apprentice, father, son, and even a romantic relationship between two men. That makes it feel real, that you can identify with it. We have taken away everything you think you know about the character, the man we see today, to show his evolution, his emotional needs, his struggle, his aggressiveness to achieve the American dream. That is our job, to get to the truth," explained actor Sebastian Stan.
In the opening moments of the movie, it seems as if Stan is playing the basic and easy elements of Trump's comedic repertoire. Then, as the footage progresses, we realize that this is part of the protagonist's mask. Stan offers the reality of a man walking with a mask and it takes time to understand what that means within the story. His gestures, speech patterns, and arrogance are a blend that the character does not understand, but still emulates. Stan's brilliant performance embodies excess and bravery in doing the impossible: revealing a bit of humanity behind the monster. "I must say, as a fellow traveler, that the evolution of the character, which Sebastian does with such finesse, was incredible to see. It's that idea of art hidden within art, I had never seen his work, but I felt the change in the man, which was very exciting as a scene partner," Strong pointed out, for whom this is a universal story. "It's the apprentice surpassing the master," he adds.
However, the most disturbing scene in 'The Apprentice' is when Trump violently throws his then-wife Ivana to the ground, played by Maria Bakalova, and proceeds to have sex with her in a degrading way. In the controversial scene, Ivana jokingly presents him with a book about the benefits of female orgasm. But the interaction between the two becomes toxic when he admits to not being attracted to her and, in his cruelty, pounces on her like an animal. "I have read a lot about their relationship. I have seen many interviews and even a documentary about her. Everyone considers her a very intelligent woman dedicated to building a partnership. She always pushed him to be better. To the point where he believes it so much that he takes advantage of the situation. When you get drunk on power, you stop paying attention to the people who helped you get there. It was difficult for me to shoot that scene, as much as it was to watch it. I don't think anyone wants to see this kind of scenes, but it is important to talk about it. Unfortunately, abuse, any type of abuse: verbal, physical, domestic, public, should not happen. We shot that sequence with respect for the victims of domestic abuse, who are the real survivors," Bakalova told us. Abbasi wanted to point out how the relationship between Ivana and Donald Trump turned into a tragedy. "From the moment they first meet there is chemistry. It's a great love story, but look how it ended: in a power struggle, in violence. This could have ended much better," the director reveals.
Abbasi's film is not a biopic, but a cinematic essay on the creation of a myth. "Gay Sherman, who co-wrote the script with me, is a political journalist with extensive knowledge of the figure of Trump. What we have tried to do together is to shoot a journalistic story and not a biopic. It is a film dedicated to the relationship between Roy Cohn and Trump. It has details of Faust because you can see Trump's evolution towards hell when he gets under Roy's wings," explains Abbasi.
Having trouble finding financing since they wrote the script in 2017, the director confesses that it has been very difficult to sell this film. "On one hand, the Trump team believes we are interfering in the elections, and on the other, they consider that we are giving too much oxygen. We don't please anyone."
‘El Aprendiz’ premieres on October 11, just 25 days before the United States presidential elections, in which Trump is fighting for his candidacy against Vice President Kamala Harris. “When you face Trump, you have to understand his playbook and be prepared for the blows. You never know what's going to happen. You have to be prepared for anything. Look, we have tried to make this film since 2018 and we have failed several times thanks to him directly or indirectly. The fact that it is coming out now amuses me, I would like to have this precision and this power, but if you ask me if I am worried because it is coming out now, I tell you no. On the contrary, I like it because as a director, as an artist, I want to have this interaction with reality and confront powers that are bigger than us. Now, if you think that way, anyone with a MAGA hat is also interfering in the elections,” Abbasi pointed out, who assures that the film does not intend to influence the audience. “Not at all, it is written so that everyone can draw their own conclusions,” emphasizes the filmmaker.
Strong interprets Cohn as a fascinating pervert. A lawyer who doesn't care about the laws, who fights for his friends. A hunter of vanities who trades in secrets, hiding every aspect of his true self with jealousy. He is both attractive and repulsive. Those who knew him still argue whether he was gay, even though he died of AIDS. "I have spent a lot of time communicating with Roy Cohn, everything I hear from Trump's mouth is the same poison that Cohn whispered in his ears." This prefabricated myth does not scare the actors who are not afraid of either Trump or his followers. "We take each day as it comes, it has been a journey to make this film. It has been a journey to get here, and obviously anything is possible, but we are on the boat," Stan admits. "I hope he (Trump) watches the movie. I think there is a lot of truth in the movie. I think it is quite accurate and quite fair. It is essential for the people of this country and the world, for anyone who cares about these elections. There is much to learn in the content of this story," Strong concluded.